Sorry it’s been so long. I’ve been hard at work and taking lots of pictures, just haven’t found the time to get it on the blog. But here we go. Today I’m showing you how I made 2 mean looking melee weapons. Whether it’s zombies, terminators, raiders, or white supremacists (too soon?), you’ll be ready to dance when you’re rocking one of these.
My first step was to acquire a wooden baseball bat and an axe handle. After checking every thrift store in town, and asking around on facebook and coming up short, I bit the bullet and had to buy them new. I spent around $30 for both of them, the bat from a Big 5, and the axe handle from Ace’s. Also acquired from Ace was the hardware I needed. Say “Hi”! I sanded his eyeballs so that they would rust better… We’re not on great terms at the moment…
Next step was to sand off all that shine. Nothing is shiny after the apocalypse.
For the axe handle, It wasn’t lacquered, so no need to sand, but I did want to make it look old. So what I did is I put on some rubber gloves, dipped my hands in some black paint, and rubbed it all over the bat. Then quickly before it dried I sprayed it off with the hose. The black paint stayed in the grains but washed off everywhere else. It was a pretty nice effect. I won’t tell you about how initially I thought I would paint it black, then immediately regretted it and tried to wash it off, and that the resulting effect was just a happy accident.
While I was doing this, my hardware was rusting away in our vinegar, salt, and hydrogen peroxide solution.
Next step for the bat was to drive the nails through the bat. They are much too big and would split the wood, so first I drilled holes. Then I hammered the nails in. I initially thought I would cut off the nail heads and sharpen them to match the other end, but I decided I like the look of it with the nail heads still on. It looks more barbaric. Remember: the mutants are no longer human. They show no sympathy and deserve none in return.
Here I’ve finished driving all the nails. I was going to do 2 more, but I broke my drill bit. >_< Not pictured here, but I then sprayed some matte clear coat on the bad, and then rubbed some dirt on it. The clear coat helps the dirt to stick, so it looks dirty. Because there’s a lot more dirt after the collapse. No more street sweepers, you see.
Next step was to wrap them with grip tape. I got a roll of it on amazon. Goes on real easy, and really gives a nice grip.
Then of course, I rubbed some dirt on it.
Then I drilled a hole in the axe head, and attached the circular saw blades with a nut, bolt, and washers. The hole was a little small so I had to use a wrench to get the bolt in.
Here I can be seen wrapping the bat in barbed wire. There was this kid out riding his bike and he kept riding back and forth in front of my house, sneaking glances at me. Can’t say I blame him. Neighbors probably think I’ve joined Antifa.
So here’s a close up of the finished bat. I think I’ll call it… Lucille 2. That’s a double reference. If you get both, let me know in the comments and I will love you forever.
And here’s a closeup of the finished buzzsaw axe. I don’t have a name for this one. Let me know if you think of something good.
That’s if for this episode. It was a fun project, I’m happy with how they turned out. Cost me prolly $60 for all the parts, but that would have been a lot less if I had managed to find more parts used. But such is crafting. Let me know what you think. Don’t forget to subscribe or share or something. Make yourself useful.
Fampocalypse 